Undergarment



New. 12, 1940. H. SCHOEBEIL.

UNDERGARMENT Filed OGt. 27, 1958 L EW/ W mwm m2 m C 0 w; mm A m 2 Patented Nov. 12, 1940 UNITED STATES UNDERGARMENT Hem-y Schoebel, West Hcmpstead, N. Ywassignor to Model Brassiere Corporation, Brooklyn, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application October 27, 1938, Serial No. 237,184

"2 Claims.

The invention relates to a garment and more particularly to a womans undergarment of the type which is characterized by its form-fitting or body-confining qualities. My invention, however,

is not limited to undergarments of the form-fitting or body-confining type, although its ad vantages are particularly evident in such application thereof, but is equally applicable to undergarments of any foundation character.

An object of the invention is to provide an undergarment of the general type described, and having an elastic girdle or body-encircling portion, with an insert detachably secured thereto to form a crotch element. Such crotch element may be readily removed for the purpose of laundering and may be replaced with another crotch element of the same design and configuration when the original crotch element has become soiled or excessively moist, as during the particl nation by the wearer in recreational activities, for instance, in athletic games, inducing excessive perspiration.

I am aware of the fact that undergarments including a body-encircling portion, commonly referred to as a girdle, have been heretofore provided with removable crotch pieces, but in one particular instance, such structure has failed utterly to solve the problem due to certain shortcomings and limitations attendant upon its particular form and the manner of securement of the crotch element to the body of the girdle, and in another instance, the structure, while overcoming the disadvantages of the first structure, is itself one embodying certain limitations in fabrication as well as in practical use.

One such prior art structure, of which I am a aware, utilizes a detachable crotch piece including an elastic tape along the sides of the cut-out crotch with the girdle provided with selvage edges, the crotch piece with selvage edges being adapted to form a continuation of the girdle selvage.

Another prior art structure, as disclosed and described in .patent to Margaret C. Baatz, No. 2,074,975, dated March 23, 1937, constitutes an improvement over the prior art structure first referred to in that the girdle is a complete garment without the crotch element, the latter not being evident from the outside but being sewn and secured entirely on the inside of the garment. The Baatz construction thus embodies a continuous, crotchless, lower peripheral edge of the garment.

I In contra-distinction to the above described structures, the structure of my novel undergarment embodies the advantages of the Baatz construction, together with certain other advantages not inherent in the Baatz construction.

In my novel undergarment, the lower peripheral edge of the garment is formed in such manner as to conform to the contours of the body, with the front and rear center portions of the garment body formed of an obtusely pointed, substantially triangular outline, so as to have such angular regions orportions assume their natural 10 positions between the thighs of the wearer, when the garment is worn.

Thus, one of the objects of my invention is to provide an, undergarment of this general type which will conform to the contours of the body 5 along substantially throughout the lower peripheral edge of the garment, having side portions of arcuate shape extending around the exterior of the wearers hips, and meeting at the points of the angular positions at the front and at the rear. 20

A further object of my invention is to provide a detachable insert constituting a. crotch element which may be applied with facility and dispatch to the body of the garment and may be removed therefrom with equal facility and dispatch, leav- 25 ing the garment, particularly in its lowermost extremities, in a body-confining contouration.

My invention is illustrated, in the accompanying drawing, as applied to a garment of the girdle type, in which drawing, Fig. 1 is a front view of 30 an undergarment in the construction of which my invention has been embodied; Fig. 2 is a front view of the garment with the bottom opening thereof in extended condition and Fig. 3, the same but without the crotch element; and Fig. 4 is a 85 plan view of the crotch element in flat condition to show its outline.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, in which similar reference characters identify simi lar parts in the several views, 5 is a garment, in 40 the instance illustrated, a girdle made of elastic material, complete in structure and contour, havingthe front lower peripheral edge portion 6 thereof formed in a pointed substantially triangular outline, the rear bottom portion 1 of the 45 girdle being of similar outline but extending somewhat below the front lower peripheral edge of the garment. To the inner portions of both the front and rear sections of the garment, and more particularly to those portions constituting 50 the centrally disposed lower portions of the garment sections, are secured tapes,8 and 9 respectively, which carry, by having enclosed therein in well known fashion, the female elements III of a.

snap fastener structure, the tapes 8 and 9 being disposed substantially vertically of the center line of the garment starting at the selvage edges of the garment at the apices of the triangular peripheral portions upwardly along the center lines of the garment sections.

The detachable crotch element is illustrated in flat condition in Fig. 4 and comprises a substantially elongated piece ll of silk or similar material of soft texture, which may be either elastic or non-elastic, the corners of the rectangular piece being cut away so that the piece It is substantially tapered toward each end. The peripheral edges of the crotch element may conveniently be provided throughout with selvage edging l2. Substantially centrally, longitudinally, of the crotch element, are positioned, and secured thereto,. tapes l3 and I 4, the former extending from the upper apex of the element downwardly and the latter from the lower apex of the element upwardly. The tapes which are secured to the crotch element by lines of stitching, are of sufficient length to carry a plurality of male elements l5 of the snap fastener structure which, like the female elements of the snap fastener structure, are enclosed within the tapes l3 and M in well known fashion.

In applying the crotch element to the girdle, the snap fastener elements along the tape [3 are engaged in the female snap fastener elements provided on the tape 8 on the inner surface of the front section of the garment and the male fastener elements along the tape M are engaged by the female fastener elements along the tape 9 on the inner surface of the rear section of the garment. The crotch element will then assume the position within the lower opening of the garment as illustrated in Fig. 2.

One feature of my novel construction is that this operation of-securing the crotch element to the girdle may be conveniently and with facility carried out while the girdle is upon the body of the wearer, the crotch element being properly positioned by juxtaposition of the apex thereof with the apex of the triangular extremity of the girdle. Once such a position of the removable crotch element has been attained, it is an extremely simple operation to run the fingers along the back of the crotch element immediately in the rear of the two tapes and secure a proper intereng-agement of the elements of the fastener structure.

Similarly, in removing or detaching the crotch element from the girdle, which may likewise be done with facility and dispatch while the garment is on the body of the wearer, it is only necessary to grasp the apices, or for that matter .one apex,

of the crotch/element secured to the inner surface of the apex of the garment section, and exert a slight pull upon the crotch element at the extremity of the tape and thus, with a simple movement, disengage the elements of the snap fastenerstructure from each other to permit the removal of the crotch element from the garment.

It wfll thus be seen that my novel construction of garment and detachable crotch element is extremely simple in construction and in its application to, or removal from, the girdle. The particular form and contour'of the crotch element is such that when it has been applied to the interior surfaces of the garment sections by means of its end portions, it will automatically assume a position in which it constitutes a substantially full and extended crotch section, constituting a snugly fitting single loop tending to draw said angular regions at the front and rear toward each other into form-fltting conformity with the lower ventral region of the wearer in front, and around under the seat of the wearer.

It is to be noted that the function of the girdle in confining the body is not interfered with in any way by the removable crotch element, such element constituting an entirely separate element in addition to the complete girdle. As a matter of fact, the contouration of the lower peripheral edges bf the garment sections in the front and in the rear, in the pointed triangular outline described and illustrated, enhances the body-confining function of the girdle as the lower extremities of the girdle are always in substantial conformity with the body contour of the wearer at the region of the body which the garment overlies. By making the removable crotch element of the particular configuration. illustrated, so as,

to conform to the configuration of the extremities of the girdle to which it is attached, the very im-' portantadvantage is secured that the amount of lateral stretch of which the garment is capable is not increased by the attachment thereto of the crotch element, so that the entire conforming function for which the girdle has been designed has beenretained, it will also be evident from the foregoing disclosure that the crotch element, being of substantial width, as illustrated, but unattached along its margins, will permit said margins to fold toward each other along, and at each side of, the median line in which the fasteners are disposed exclusively, the front andrear fasteners being all aligned in the mid-plane of the garment, extending from front to rear.

While I have described a particular preferred embodiment of my invention, it-is obvious that various changes therein, for instance in the shape and dimensions of the crotch element, and the means of its securement to the girdle, may be made without departing from my invention.

I claim:

1. A womans garment comprising a body-encircling and body-confining member of elastic material having a continuous crotchless lower peripheral edge shaped to form an arcuate boundary at the portion extending around the wearers thigh at each side, said arcuate boundary portions meeting in an obtuse angle at the front and in a similar, somewhat more acute, angle at the back, forming front and rear angular regions, and a separately formed substantially elongated crotch element of substantial breadth, adapted to extend beneath the wearers crotch from a region of attachment at the inner marginal surface of the angular portion of the front section to a like attachment at the inner marginal surface of the angular portion of the rear section, and attachment means comprising cooperating readily attachable and detachable fasteners upon contiguous portions of said garment and crotch element, said fasteners being disposed exclusively in alignment along a single line, bisecting said angular front and rear portions and lying in the midplane of the crotch from front to rear of the garment, leaving marginal portions of said crotch element substantially free tofold freely between the wearer's legs along a portion of said element free from attachment, whereby said crotch element. constitutes a snugly fitting single loop tending to draw said angular regions toward each other into form-fitting conformity with the lower ventral region of the wearer in front, and around under the seat of the wearer. I

2. As a new article of manufacture, a crotch element for use as an element of the garment claimed in claim 1, and adapted to serve in combinative relation with the body member of said garment as specified therein, said crotch element being constituted by a substantially elongatedflexible piece of fabric material 0! soft texture having substantial breadth. and tapering toward each end, each of said ends being provided with a garniture of tape fitted with several male snap fastener elements spaced to register with cooperating female snap fastener elements disposed exclusively in a line coinciding with the center-line of the crotch, leaving marginal portions of the crotch element. at each side of said attachment line free to fold between the wearer's less when in place.

HENRY SCHOEBEL. 

